Timeline:Time shifts/Theories
Second Flash *Richard Alpert's knowledge of John Locke's impending death but lack of information regarding Locke's success in returning the Oceanic Six to the Island suggests a date following Jeremy Bentham's death but prior to the return of the Oceanic Six, roughly late 2007 - early 2008. ** Not necessarily, The Others have lost most means of communicating to the outside world, and it also seems they've become less active after the survivors left/disappeared. Fourteenth Flash *Each flash goes to an important event in the Island's history. Based on the appearance of the whole statue and no well in the 14th flash, this could very possibly place it some time after the beginning of The Incident, Parts 1 & 2, once Black Rock arrives. This might happen during Richard Alpert's backstory, if he indeed came with the ship, and we could see Charlotte's body. However, this doesn't explain how Christian appeared to Locke, two centuries before his dead body would come to the Island. *This flash takes place in the future. The statue is rebuilt (which explains why it looks a bit different) and the orchid is destroyed. Final Flash *The flash occurring after Locke's fixing and subsequent use of the Frozen Wheel is the final random flash those left behind will experience. They are temporarily stuck in the late 1970s or early 1980s. This estimate is based off of Pierre Chang's statement "roughly thirty years" in the DHARMA Booth Video (received in July of 2008), and the alleged date of Charlotte's birth (July 2nd 1979). It is possible that either Pierre's calculation had a factor of error of several years or that Charlotte was born early than her records state. The events which those left behind will experience at this time are: **Daniel's warning to the young Charlotte **Daniel's infiltration of the Orchid in an attempt to return him and his friends to the present **The production of the DHARMA Booth Video ***During this time the adult Miles will encounter his father, Pierre Chang, and his infant self. When Pierre learns from those left behind of the coming Purge, he decides to send his son away to escape death, knowing already that he will be successful by the fact that Miles is indeed still alive, and thus creating a paradox. General flash theories *Every time the Island moves, it moves to a point in time in which someone new arrived on the island, or at least around that general time (possibilities shown below in italics) **The first shift is that of the beechcraft. **''The third shirt could potentially be that of Juliet.'' **''The fourth shift could be that of the US army.'' **The fifth shift is that of Aaron's birth. **''The sixth shift could be that of the return of the Oceanic 6.'' **The seventh shift is that of the French expedition. **''The eighth shift may be due to the birth of Alex.'' *Other flashes may be attributed to the Black Rock, Henry Gale, Desmond, flight 815, the Kahana crew, the Dharma Initiative, etc. **The flashes take the island to the 'windows' that Eloise was talking about. This would tie in with the theory that they flash to when people arrive on the island. *Fourteen is also the number of times we've seen the Smoke Monster in smoke form. This might be connected to the fourteen time shifts. (Plus there are fourteen DHARMA section leaders who are discussing Sayid's execution in 1977.)